Impressions of the Community and Position in Szechuen (Contributed)
Szechuen province is far from Shanghai and Chengtu is far inside Srechuen but when troubles arise there legation wires get busy ime mediately. Formerly this was due in part to the presence of business Interests in the capital city of the "garden" province, China' wealth- Sta jest and most self-sufficient member, and to the concurrent presence there of consular bodies. "But all that has been changed for several despite the fact that the in-lingers on and io Chengtu, 1800 mild from, "Shangha, "one inds department stores, photo' shops and motor ears, Of cabarets there "Ghengia still has & large community. "These are the mis-eng tu still has a large forei
wlonaries.'" Tense moments have been plentiful for them In the past two decades and two years since the advent of the republic. Civil wars are common. in' Szechuen where there is much wealth to fight for. There was the memorable evacuation of hundreds "of missionaries from the "proviney in" 1927. But, this 3 entered. Not only a nominal governor, Li and his erstwhile ally, General "Teng Chi chu, fighting in the immediate vicin nity of the capital city; not only 4g there reasonable likelihood that the [province's other five big gen grails will join the melee and close in upon Chengtu in' an effort to reduce the military and financial status of Liu; but fear of com munism is now in the city.
The Red army under Ho Lung, notorious for his will-o'-the-wisp activities, has been repeatedly. scoring victories. over the squabbling opposition, Until late it. confined ite activities to the northeastern mountains where it came last win-Ter after an exodus with its women, children and political enthusiasts in 1,000 mile migration. Now the leds are reported to be advancing upon the central part, have captured the strategic Kwangyuan and fare said to be hard upon Paoning. Missionaries know they can only expect the worst from the Come munists but cannot flee even should they desire to do so in view of re, ports that local warfare has closed Yonds leading from Chengta to Chungking, 400 miles away, where the nearest "American or "British gunboat can be found, The non-missionaries in Chengty are easily enumerated, There are three: Dr. G. Bechamp, acting French consul and fo charge of the Pasteur research laboratories locat. ed there; Mr. E. A. Cavaliere, th city's postal commissioner, and his assistant, Mr. L. Fisher,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.